Monday, October 31, 2011

A Snowy October 29

Saturday, October 29 in Pennsylvania we had an early winter snow storm. In Telford, Montgomery County area where I live we only had around six inches of snow; some areas in PA had as much as twelve inches. The last time we had accumulating snow in October in this area was back in 1979. Many people have been without electricity since then due to trees that fell down under the weight of the snow. However, my wife and I are blessed to have only loss electricity for a split second though we did lose our phone and internet service for a few hours Saturday morning. The following are a few pictures from around home not near as dramatic as scenes I've seen from friends on Facebook.









Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Farm Scenes from Lancaster County, PA

Back on Friday, October 7, my wife and I took a trip out to Lancaster County, PA. Below are some farm scenes from our excursion. Part of this time we were on an Amish wagon ride to an Amish dairy farm. The Amish guide and farmer told us they used gas engine compressers to operate much of the dairy operation and to provide themselves with running water and showers.

 A farm scene taken from the car window on the way out

 Raking hay


 A baling operation with a cemetery in the background

 One of the horses at Aaron and Jessica's  Buggy Rides

 Beginning our ride to an Amish farm

 Arriving at the Amish farm

 Inside the Amish dairy barn

 Raking

 Baling

Heading out from the Amish farm

Some alpacas we saw later in the day

Monday, October 17, 2011

A Few Quilts in Lancaster County

Friday, October 7th, my wife and I spent a day together out in Lancaster County, PA enjoying their local scenery. We stopped at a number of shops and participated in a number of activities like eating cinnamon sugar pretzels, eating at a couple local restaurants that reflect the culture of the area, and taking a horse and wagon ride to an Amish farm. However, this post is centering around some Amish-Mennonite quilts that were on display at one of the local shops in the town of Intercourse in Lancaster County.

I chose to include this photo of Noah and the Ark with a quilt in the
background because sometimes quilting becomes a refuge from the
world and a place to sort out one's thoughts.

Sometimes quilts are a patchwork of material left over from
other projects or older clothing no longer being worn.

Amish-Mennonite quilts can be bright or dark although
from the sampling I saw on this visit most were dark
colors. There was also one quilt that was all white
except for the stitching in the quilt.

As shown in this quilt and the one above, some quilts keep
repeating a standard pattern but change the colors.



Sunday, October 16, 2011

Hiking the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek

This past Tuesday, I went for a hike along the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek near Perkasie, Bucks County, PA. It was a beautiful warm day with a mixture of clouds and sun. But the spirit of autumn was in the air and all around as the following pictures will show.
















Monday, October 10, 2011

Hiking the West Side - Nockamixon State Park

This past Saturday late afternoon, I enjoyed spending time enjoying autumn at Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County, PA on the Quakertown side. Late Sunday evening, my wife and I returned there briefly. The pictures below reflect some of our time there. Both days were delightfully sunny and warm with bright blue skies.